Trinity will not make a blanket decision on the cancellation of Study Abroad programmes, instead dealing with exchanges on a case-by-case basis.
Last month, Trinity opted not to cancel Erasmus exchanges for the first semester of the upcoming academic year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an email statement toThe University Times, Juliette Hussey, Trinity’s vice-president for Global Relations, said: “The proceeding with non EU exchanges is on a case by case basis as some have cancelled inward and outward exchanges.”
Some exchanges, she wrote, “will be completely online” , while “some countries will have travel restrictions and even if lifted may be too late where visas needed”.
College is discouraging students from going ahead with their exchanges if their host university is offering online teaching and learning only. All exchanges will be voluntary, meaning that students who are normally required to go on exchange as part of their degree will not be penalised if they do not go abroad. A decision about second-semester exchanges has not yet been made.
College will run a series of webinars over the coming weeks in order to help students make “well-informed decisions” on whether to go abroad next year or withdraw from the programme.
In an email to all Trinity students last week, Brendan Tighe, Trinity’s Erasmus and European Partnerships manager, wrote: “We regret that you are now faced with having to make a difficult choice and we understand that it will not be an easy decision to make.”
“Beyond your own health and well-being there are financial and academic matters among others that must also be taken into account”, he said.
Trinity has said that its decision on Erasmus “may be revised” in the case of a second wave of the virus, and is discouraging students from going ahead with their exchanges if their host university is offering online teaching and learning only.
Hussey wrote in an email to students on May 29th that all exchanges will be voluntary, meaning students who are normally required to go on exchange as part of their degree will not be penalised if they do not go abroad.
Students can also return to Trinity and re-integrate with their programme, but must do so within the first four weeks of the first term.
